Spectres in the Fog
by NeoVenus22
Summary: Duncan looks at his little girl and sees all of the people that created her. [complete]


Disclaimer: Veronica Mars isn't mine! 

This was done for (someone else's!) meme on LJ. Spoilers for 2x11, Donut Run.

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Duncan stared at Lilly, sleeping in her crib, her hands curled into miniscule baby fists, a glistening droplet of drool decorating the corner of her tiny, pursed mouth, already pouting at this world. In his mind, he'd called her Lilly before she was even born, long before the Mannings dubbed her Faith. He was never going to let her have a virtuous name, not because he believed that she'd never be virtuous, but because he wanted no ties to the Mannings, even though their blood coursed through her veins just as much as his did. Grace, small, waifish Grace, held very little true grace, her limbs tight, her frame stunted slightly, her spine forever bearing a curve as the mark of her devotion. Grace's posture would never be as strong and defiant as her sisters', it would be cursed with scoliosis, bearing an imaginary cross, given to her by her parents.

But Lilly, his Lilly, would never be that. Lilly would be as willowy and lovely as her floral namesake, both delicate and wild. She would stand as tall and as proud as the aunt after which she was named, and she would carry the best traits of her birth mother and her surrogate mother alike.

Lilly (the original), Meg, and Veronica all had one thing in common beside their diminutive stature and shining blond hair. They had life. Though two of them lay in graves, littered with rose petals from mourning lovers, there sparked so much life in the women that Duncan loved. Lilly's brevity was the force behind her impetuous nature and rash decisions, and her ability to make him laugh. Meg's heart was big and warm like a hug, she was pure and optimistic, and her smile was as angelic as Lilly's was devilish. Veronica's intelligence was something of legend, her brain constantly whirring and figuring out angles, something for which he was insanely grateful. Lilly was ambitious, Meg was compassionate, and Veronica was intuitive.

They all had tremendous amounts of love. In their own particular ways, they had all made it abundantly clear that they loved him as much as he loved them. He gazed down at Lilly, this beautiful, tiny mass that he had helped create, and found that he had more love for her than for all three of them combined.

The hot Mexican sun streamed through the window of his beige one-room apartment, but even in the glorious light, there was a certain fog to the room, the dust particles in the golden glow bathing the pale walls ethereally. The room was heavy with the ghosts of the women he'd left behind. And he had left them behind: all of their gifts came with a cost. Lilly's life, vibrant though it was, was a destructive path that had led to her untimely death. Duncan had been unable to warn her off this track, had not tried hard enough to make her see what he saw when he looked at her. Meg's devotion had left her blind, caring for him even when he shouldn't, something that had unfortunately helped lead to her death, and he'd been unable to save her from himself. Veronica's brains led to lots of thinking, too much thinking, and she was plagued with demons of the cases she couldn't solve and the cases that she wished she hadn't, and he was unable to save her from even this. Duncan watch the dust float on a nonexistent breeze, and even though they'd all let him go, he couldn't help but think that it was his fault for abandoning them first.

Lilly gurgled, her pudgy legs kicking, her green eyes blinking in the impossible light, and Duncan swelled once more with love and pride and determination. He would never abandon her. He knew that she was gifted with all the qualities of her predecessors, but he would never let her drown in them. He would let her flourish, he would let her grow and glow and be the most important person in the lives of anyone she touched, just like she was the most important person in his.

Duncan held out a finger, and Lilly's minute digits curled around his own, clutching in a handshake that sealed the deal. Little Lilly's future was as bright as this room. Duncan would make sure of it.


End file.
